Crocodiles can push a ball or slide on water just for fun, not unlike humans . This is the conclusion reached by psychology professor Vladimir Dinets, from the University of Tennessee, in the USA, after studying these animals for a decade.
In a study published in the journal Animal Behavior and Cognition , this researcher points out that crocodiles practice the three main types of play activities recognized by behavioral experts: games related to locomotion, social games and games with objects. Among them, it seems, the latter stands out especially. In fact, it is not uncommon to see these animals play with things that float in the water , from pieces of wood to the remains of their victims. In addition, both alligators and crocodiles have been observed to crawl over and over again on the same slope, take advantage of currents to slide over the water repeatedly and carry their young and pairs "on horseback".
Dinets notes that, on rare occasions, some of these reptiles have come to bond with their human caretakers to the point of considering them playmates. He also hopes that his study will provide clues about the evolution of intelligence .
